The Pessimist and the Optimist
by Ice Dragon
Summary: A woman must make a difficult choice between death and unhappiness...


Disclaimer: Digimon is obviously not mine, because if it was I'd probably be writing the episodes J

Frank R. Stockton wrote The Lady or the Tiger which this is also based upon. 

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# _The Pessimist and the Optimist_

Many a year ago, there existed a kingdom that was the very heart of the Digital World. It was a peaceful community with inhabitants of digimon and humans alike. There were grand castles atop high hills out looking the various towns and cities. Each of these massive buildings symbolized all that the cooperation between the digimon and humans, for it took the long and hard work of the two kinds to place each stone in the correct place that would amass to the structure's beauty. It was the twilight of the Digiworld, but the peace did not last long.

No one knows how the fighting starting; it just erupted in a frenzy. Some say that the fighting began because of a simple quarrel about which creature, digimon or human, had superior strength. Casualties from the war were suffered from both sides; brothers were lost; families split in half. Things were beginning to look bleak. That is, until a great savior arrived. 

He was a human named Koushiro Izumi. On the outside, he was nothing special: A common man who was sick of this fighting. His peculiar nature was to question and analyze everything and that he did.

"Why are we fighting? What good can bring of it?"

His words struck the hearts of both sides. Why were they fighting? No one knew. So, the opponents set aside their differences and talked out their disagreements at a convention. They decided to make peace and elected Koushiro as their new king.

King Izumi's strange nature had benefited the inhabitants of the Digiworld by ending the war, but it also brought about some weird changes. Most notably, was his council of advisors. To make sure a conflict did not break open again, he required that he had two advisors, one human and one digimon. The most eccentric part was that one had to be absolutely pessimistic and the other had to be heartily optimistic. His court system could have also seen some improvements.

No one dared to doubt the fairness and righteousness of King Izumi's judicial system. His grand idea was that justice should be left all to fate and chance. Court was held inside a grand temple where the accused would sit before a table. Before the criminal there were two buttons, one green and one pink. If he pressed one, he was deemed guilty and a punishment would be served instantly. However, if he pressed the other one, he was deemed innocent and compensated for his trouble. No one knew which button held which fate; the guilty would sometimes be green and sometimes be pink. None knew the nature of the punishment or the reward either until declared by the advisors. Punishment could range anywhere from a lion springing out of a cage of a simple pinch; rewards could range anywhere from a room of gold to a pat on the back. The role of the two advisors in this court was simply to point out the pros and cons to the accused.

And so, one day a rather bizarre case was presented to the king. There was a prestigious lord named Yamato Ishida who had a wife whose name was Sora Takenouchi. The lady did not feel loved by her lord, and as a result, sought out to have an affair with a common man. Who ever had heard such a thing! He was a courageous man, named Taichi Kamiya, who had served in the long war, which pitted human against digimon. His courage had won over the heart of the maiden and they loved each other very dearly.

The day came for the trail. 

One of the King's advisors, Jyou Kido, read out from a scroll, "Taichi Kamiya, you are charged with committing crimes against ethics. Take your seat and we may proceed."

Of course when he said "we" he really meant "you."

Taichi sat in his seat and noticed the addition of two grand doors that lay beyond the table in front of him. Strange…

Next in tradition, the king spoke

"My royal advisors may now speak upon the subject."

Lord Kido spoke again.

"You'll see that before you are the two buttons to decide your fate. Pressing one shall open a door in which a lion shall pounce out and devour you."

Taichi gulped. Hearing that made his stomach unsettling.

The digimon known as Gomamon then added, "But, however, if you press the other button, the other door shall open and a beautiful maiden shall come out and you two shall be wedded on the spot."

Taichi's heart broke. It was a rather lose-lose situation for him.

The pessimist spoke. 

"On the one hand, you may suffer a painful death."

Gomamon talked.

"On the other hand, you may enjoy a grand wedding."

Taichi looked up at his lover in the midst of the crowd, Sora. He stared into her pretty eyes and he knew. He understood that she knew. The woman had called for many favors and spent a large amount of money to discover which button held which fate. Over the nights she had been silently debated with herself to which button she should advise her lover to press. 

The blood; it would be most horrible for me to watch the death of my beloved. No, not death. Murder.

It was very true. One cannot enjoy watching a loved one die at the huge teeth of a lion.

Her beauty and radiance; my heart would die a thousand times watching him wed.

She knew the identity of the lady behind the door and was jealous of her.

Sora made a quick motion towards the pink button.

So the question now remains for you. What is more horrible, losing your loved one physically or emotionally? Did the lion kill Taichi or was he wed to a beautiful woman?

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End file.
